popular destruction
by BlackNeko20
Summary: maria is in charge of homecoming. she gets approached by molly. molly wants to ruin it and frame the popular kids. maria is torn. does she risk herself and follow molly or does she stick it to the man? for darkangelsnapelover's 'school days' collab series. rated t.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Maria was surrounded by streamers. She was decorating for the spring fling dance. It was the hottest event of the school year. Students looked forward to it all year. Maria was one of four finalists to plan the dance. Her classmates voted her in. She was in charge of each detail. The streamers were her idea. They would help fit the Hawaiian theme. She was having the time of her life.

At five, the gym was closed. They had a week to decorate for the dance. They didn't have to be there the whole time. Maria went to her car. She was the last one out so she was alone. She dropped her eyes. When she picked them up, she noticed a shadow. She turned to see Molly.

Molly embodied the punk look. Black hair with pink highlights, black clothes, and black fishnet gloves. Her lipstick was dark red. Her eyes still weren't visible. Maria looked to where they were supposed to be. Molly put her finger over her lips.

"Why would I scream?" Maria asked. Molly shrugged, "Typical reaction. Look, I'm just here to talk. Will you drive me to a better location? You shouldn't be seen with me," she said. Maria was confused. Why wouldn't she want to be seen out with Molly? She might look punk but she wasn't bad. At least Maria didn't see her that way.

She obeyed. She drove them to a warehouse nearby. They parked around back. Molly liked the location. She offered Maria a cigarette. Maria asked her not to smoke at all. Molly agreed. She put the pack away. She apologized for being so nervous. Maria demanded answers.

Molly gave them, "Okay, I know I'm acting so sketch right now, but it's needed, okay? I am so fucking sick of all these popular girls taking over the world. They keep turning me into the school counsellors because of how I look. So I like the color black. What of it?" she ranted. She turned to Maria, "I need your help to get back at these bastards. They think everything in life is so perfect. Well, I want to prove them wrong."

"How do I play into this?" Maria asked. Molly looked away, "Well, I want you to help me make this work. You're the one planning the dance, putting everything together. The night before, you'll be allowed to stay super late to work on the dance, and that's when I want you to help me sabotage everything."

Maria was confused, "Sabotage? We're not setting the gym on fire, are we?" she asked. Molly scoffed, "No! Why does everyone think we're so into fire because we wear black? You've let these people corrupt you, Maria. I remember you at Lakewood Middle. You were so punk, so Goth. It was great. Then you decided popular was more important than your roots. You let them corrupt you, and now it's time to prove you were always one of us. You're the youngest kid in your family, the most misunderstood. Come on, you have to want the same things I do."

"I want things not to be so important, the fashion things," Maria whispered. She looked to Molly, "Okay, so you want to do something big at the dance, and you want me to help. Okay, I'm willing to look into everything. But I need a scapegoat. If there are no suspects, it looks like I did it. If anyone finds out you were there, you'll be under the gun."

"I've already got it covered," Molly sneered. "The football team is planning a prank for the next morning. They'll be blamed for the sabotage, not either one of us. As long as you get out of there at the right time, no one will suspect you of anything. So, are you in?" Molly asked.

Maria was reluctant. She was eager to please. She liked being popular. But she wasn't being herself. Her clothes were just things her grandmother liked to send her. Everyone else wanted her to be popular. Her own mom could care less. She just wanted Maria to graduate, to get out of the house. She'd also cover for her if anything happened. Her mom would want any problems to go away.

"And you're sure the football team is going to act," Maria said. Molly nodded. Maria sighed, "Well, I guess…I'm in. Tell me everything."

And Molly did.

Maria put up the last of the decorations. The inflated hula girl went onstage. The disco ball was hung. And at ten o'clock, Maria left. Molly met her at the back door. She wore all black. She was invisible on the moonless night. A few more kids went in with her. They also wore black. The door was locked behind them. Molly would work on that later. First, they had to place the sabotages.

Maria went home. She used an online camera to watch Lakewood High's parking lot. At eleven, the football team arrived. They were in four separate cars. None of them had their headlights on. They wore all black. They threw toilet paper everywhere. They used chalk to write on everything. It was mass confusion. Molly and the gang easily left.

Despite things, Maria slept easy. She knew no one would know. She knew no one would suspect her. And most important, she knew the popular kids would get what they deserve.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

The dance was beautiful. Music played. Food was served. It was a festive atmosphere. Maria watched from the DJ booth. The principal was with her. He beamed with pride. This was a great event, he said. This was what the kids waited for all year. Nothing could go wrong, he said. Maria knew he couldn't be more wrong.

A lot of people showed up. The school sold five hundred tickets to the event. Each ticket was for a couple, bringing the total to a thousand. Chaperones were everywhere. Half the school's teachers swarmed the dancefloor. They had their eye out for shenanigans. Maria had her eye out too. Molly told her no details. Maria had to be surprised. So she didn't know what would happen or when. It was a perfect plan.

That afternoon, the football team was suspended. They broke a few windows. The administrators were pissed. The boys had to go. They had a lot of punishment ahead of them. None of them could attend the dance. They could only go home. They were lucky to not face charges. The whole school knew it. Everyone also knew what they said. All of them said they'd get even, that they didn't break the window and the school would pay for suspending them.

As the crowd reached its peak, Maria saw how "they would get back." A bunch of water balloons fell from the ceiling. Each was filled with paint. It was a rainbow fiesta on the dancefloor. Everyone screamed, some from shock, others from surprise. Everyone was stunned. What was going on?

The principal was furious. He called security. He had to find out who placed those balloons. He had to know what was going on, if anything else would happen. Maria watched in stunned silence. She was immediately questioned. She told them the truth-she left at ten and locked the gym behind her. That was before the football team arrived.

The principal demanded they check the door. They found marks all over it. The marks made it look like someone was trying to break in. No one knew if they were successful. The area was in a blind spot too. No camera picked up the action. No one knew who did it or if they got in. Judging by the balloons, someone got in.

The crowd was nervous. They murmured fearfully. The adults ran around in a frenzied fashion. Maria remained in the booth. She watched the DJ begin his next track. In an instant, the next phase started. Demonic music played. People covered their ears. Others screamed. What was going on? Maria knew, but she was still shocked.

Everyone looked around for more problems. When they felt wetness on them, they looked up. Something activated the sprinklers. Instead of water, a blood-like substance came out. Everyone was covered. It looked like everything was bleeding. The heavy rock music didn't help. People tried to leave in droves. They were kept inside by security. Everyone inside was a suspect so they couldn't leave.

That was just what Molly wanted.

The music changed. It was a chant of some sort. Maria couldn't decipher it. She tried hard to listen. People were screaming and crying. They felt trapped. They also made a lot of noise. Maria understood nothing. But she knew it was time to stop things. She didn't think the finale had started yet. She didn't know what would happen. But she knew something was coming.

The chanting stopped. People let out sighs of relief. Then, the finale came. The inflatables deflated. The streamers seemed to burn. People screamed. Security had no choice but to let people out. Maria could tell the smoke was just incense. But no one knew how it ignited. No one knew anything. But the theory from the admins was just what they wanted: The football team was taking the blame.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

The boys swore it wasn't them. They pleaded with the administrators of Lakewood High. They got lawyers. They found the charges Elwood City's police took them in for. It was a huge event. The boys were blamed for sabotaging the dance. They were off the team, they weren't going to walk at graduation, and the younger ones were expelled. It was huge news.

Maria was nervous. Would they catch her? Would they catch Molly and her friends? Molly had a plan for that. Maria came to school wearing all black. She dyed her hair red the night before. She added black streaks that morning. Her makeup was dark, her accessories metallic and spiked. She looked as if the event had gotten to her. It was what Molly wanted, and it worked. No one suspected her. They pitied her. Her shining moment was ruined by pranksters. Instead of pointing fingers, they kept their distance. Maria was free to get back to her old ways.

Everyone talked about the event. Many thought the boys weren't at fault. Many others thought they were. The school was in an uproar. Those who blamed the football team blamed all of the popular kids. They ruined the dance because they didn't get their way. It pissed people off. The popular group was seen as bad. If anything went wrong, everyone said it was them. It had to be them. They were privileged. They knew they could get away with it. Why wouldn't they vandalize the school?

This went on for the rest of the year. Molly and Maria hung out all summer. They wondered if this could continue. They hoped the summer months wouldn't erase progress. The popular kids had to learn not everything was perfect. Too good of a summer could ruin that.

Luckily the kids kept that in mind. They learned their lesson. They wouldn't act so uppity. They understood now that popularity wasn't everything. They even seemed to treat Molly and her group better. Maria quickly noticed. She stopped being punk/Goth because of mistreatment. She didn't care anymore. She wanted to dress the way Molly did, to act like they did. Being treated semi-nice by others was just a perk.

The other perk? No football games. The program was suspended. Too many of their players had too many problems. The coach was fired. He knew about the prank and never told anyone. The school system hated that. They decided to scrap the whole program until things got better. They warned other groups to learn from their mistake too. The cheerleaders acted better. No more fashion club either. Lakewood High became a judgement-free zone. Life got better. It came at a price, but that video was viral. The paint, heavy music, and raining blood got the world talking. And the best part? The ones who did it never got caught.

-end


End file.
